Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Monday passed a bill that would limit the health care procedures for underage minors. Transgender rights have become a new flashpoint for Republican lawmakers nationwide.
“I was told this week that the country is looking at Arkansas because I have another bill passed by the General Assembly, which is a product of the cultural war in America, on my desk,” Hutchinson told reporters said as he announced his veto.
He said the bill “although well-intentioned is self-evident” and called it an example of ‘major government breach’ which would cause ‘legal interference with doctors and parents’ as they deal with the most complex and sensitive issues concerning young people . people. ”
The bill, called the Save Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act, would have banned menopausal treatments, including surgery and hormone therapy, for people under 18. Arkansas would have become the first state in the country to ban these practices if Hutchinson had signed them.
The governor further criticized the bill for not continuing to care for transgender youths who have already received this treatment.
“We want to send a message of tolerance and diversity,” he said.
Arkansas’ GOP-led House and Senate approved the bill last month, mostly at party boundaries. Republicans have enough votes to overrule Hutchinson’s veto by a simple majority vote – something the governor said he already expected.
“However, I am hopeful that my actions will make Conservative Republican lawmakers think about the issue and hopefully come up with a more restrained approach that can thoroughly study the science and ethics surrounding the issue before they act,” he said. .
CBS News has two Republicans who were the main sponsors for comments from Arkansas State Representative Robin Lundstrum and State Senator Alan Clark.
Hutchinson’s veto comes less than two weeks after he signed two other bills restricting LGBT rights.
In one bill, doctors could refuse to treat patients on the basis of religious or moral objections – a move that critics say is likely to dismiss LGBT people.
The other bill bans transgender women and girls from participating in women’s sports teams. Arkansas was the second state in the U.S. to pass such legislation – after Idaho, whose law was overturned by a federal judge.
At least 25 states have proposed similar measures. Four states have so far implemented the prohibition laws.
South Dakota Legislature a ban passed about transgender women playing in women’s sports team, but Republican Gov. Kristi Noem said she did not believe the bills would survive legal challenges, and she issued a ban on executive orders last week.
The wave ban comes after President Biden overturned many of the Trump administration’s LGBT restrictions, including a transgender military ban.